INTERVIEW WITH JEFF RUSSO

Richard Buxton talks with
composer Jeff Russo about
his foray into writing music
for television, balancing
his career between composing
for film and TV with his
band-work, how he came to
write the score for the
first season of Fargo and
more.

RB - Having started your career
in rock music, how did you
find yourself composing for
visual media, and was it a
path you had considered
taking before being
presented with the
opportunity?

JR -
I was asked to play guitar
on a score for a movie back
in 2000. I really loved
working to picture, so I
thought "This is something I
would love to do!" About 5
years later, when Tonic was
on hiatus, I was talking to
Wendy Melvoin about it, and
she asked if I wanted to
come into their (Wendy and
Lisa's) studio to watch what
they were doing. Soon after,
I started working for them
on various projects. That
was my introduction to
writing music for visual
media. I had always loved
film music, but this was the
first time I thought about
it as something I would like
to do long term.

RB - The last few years has
seen a dramatic increase in
the amount of scores being
written by musicians who
have a professional musical
background outside film
music. What do you think
that such composers can
offer that those who have
worked solely in film
scoring perhaps cannot?

JR -
It's just a different
perspective. When you come
from a completely different
background than a
classically trained
composer, you'll have a
totally different musical
point of view. That's the
thing that is so attractive
about it.
RB - You are currently a member
of the two-time Grammy Award
nominated rock band Tonic,
having founded it in 1993.
How do you go about
balancing your band career
and TV/Film scoring career?

JR -
It's been pretty
uncomplicated. Most of the
shows and films I've been
working on have started in
the fall and gone through
the winter and spring with
the summers off. The summer
is usually the time that
Tonic does the most shows,
so it works out pretty
nicely. It's really great,
actually. I love doing both
and am very lucky that I've
been able to continue to do
both.

RB - Are there any noticeable
differences in what it takes
to succeed in film scoring
compared to your experience
when performing in a band?

JR -
Interestingly, it's
completely different and yet
similar at the same time.
With Film and TV,
relationships with the
filmmakers are very
important, and making those
relationships takes getting
out there and meeting people
and getting your music in
front of those people. With
being an artist or band, the
same hold true but you are
trying to get your music in
front of people and creating
fans.

RB - What are some film and
television scores from the
past that you would consider
to be your favorites or
particularly inspiring to
you?

JR -
Since I'm primarily a guitar
player, I have an affinity
for those types of scores.
Brokeback Mountain is one of
my favorite scores of all
time, along with The
Shawshank Redemption, and
Inception…

RB - Can you tell us about your
current studio setup?

JR -
I have a combination of a
composer's set up in a
traditional recording studio
environment. I like to play
live instruments on any
score that I write, so I
have to be able to record it
right at a moment's notice,
as well as have players come
in and record. My composing
rig is a 3 computer set up
with Pro tool 10 as my main
sequencer (and the machine I
record any live instruments
to), a sample playback rig
(running logic and Vienna
Ensemble) and a stem
recorder/Video playback
machine. I also have to be
able to record artists and
my band when needed. I am
installing an analog console
to really get that
traditional recording studio
vibe (which I love).
RB - You’ve already covered a
number of film and
television genres with the
likes of Fargo, Power, and
My Generation. Is there a
genre that you feel most
comfortable working in?

JR -
I find that I am most
comfortable working on
things that take me outside
of what I'm totally
comfortable with!

RB - How did you go about
composing the main theme for
Fargo?

JR -
The day that Noah (Hawley,
creator/showrunner) told me
about the show, I went back
to my studio and picked up
my guitar and wrote main
melody for that theme. It
really grew from there. That
was a good 6 months before
we started shooting. I just
took that melody and
expanded on it, with putting
it on Viola and Violin and
Harp. Then added the big
crescendo of the whole
orchestra. The other bits
and pieces came later the
next day.

RB - A lot of Fargo is thick
with atmosphere and tension,
but avoids pitfalls that
many scores for similar
shows succumb to, to become
a consistently compelling
listen. How do you ensure
the less thematic and
emotive sequences remain
riveting?

JR -
With Silence. It's pretty
important to let moments be
moments. If there is too
much music, then music
becomes way less effective.
In Fargo, everything was
done so well that it allowed
us to use music very
specifically and allow the
tension to rise in
silence...That way when the
music does enter, it's way
more powerful and effective.

RB - Is it a challenge to
balance Fargo’s combination
of darkly comical and
intensely dramatic
sequences?

JR -
We didn't really play music
for the funny bits. Those
things live on their own.
There is a lighter side of
the score, because there is
a lighter side of life.
Mainly I played into the
emotional side and beauty of
the scenery.

RB - Are you a fan of the
original Coen Brothers
feature film, and in what
ways did you take
inspiration from it?

JR -
Huge fan of the film and of
the Coen Brothers. The
inspiration is in the world
that they created. The
juxtaposition of light and
dark.

RB - How long does it normally
take for you to write a
single episode of music?

JR -
It really depends on the
show. With Fargo it ranged
from 4 days to 2 weeks...But
Most of the themes were
created before we ever
started shooting, giving me
the opportunity to write
forward. While we were
working on episode 2 and 3,
I was already writing 6 and
7 and 8. Under normal
circumstances, it takes
about 3-5 days to turn
around an episode of
television, but I have had
to do that in 2 as well.

RB - You recently completed
scoring the upcoming
thriller The Surface. What
can we expect to hear from
you in the film?

JR -
I had such a great time
working on that one. I
really was able to watch the
movie with my guitar in hand
and sketch the whole thing.
Then go back and add other
bits and pieces to what I
had already come up with
thematically.

RB - Tell us about your work
with the ballet company
Cedar Lake. What challenges
were you presented with that
you had not faced in film
scoring?

JR -
That was a great project. I
was able to write from the
choreography backwards. Jen
Ballard (choreographer) had
already come up with most of
the choreography for the
dance, and asked for music
to be written to it. That
posed a huge challenge. I
hadn't written to people
dancing before. We flew to
NY and sat with the Dance
company for 3 days of
rehearsals while video
taping the sections. Then
took all that back to LA and
got to work. We would send
pieces to Jen as they were
getting close to being
finished for tweaks and
notes, and then put them all
together to form the 22
minutes of music... It was
really fun!

You
can find out more about
Jeff Russo and his
current projects at his
OFFICIAL SITE